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John Jacob Astor IV’s Titanic Pocket Watch Fetches $1M
The Patek Philippe for Tiffany & Co. timepiece Astor brought aboard the ill-fated ship sold for double its estimate at a Freeman’s auction.
A Patek Philippe for Tiffany & Co. pocket watch and Battin & Co. pencil case, both belonging to Titanic victim John Jacob Astor IV, achieved a combined total of $1.2 million at Freeman’s Watches sale in Chicago on Wednesday.
Chicago—Two engraved gold accessories belonging to John Jacob Astor IV, an American business mogul who perished in the 1912 sinking of the Titanic, found buyers at a Freeman’s Watches auction held Wednesday in Chicago.
Astor’s Patek Philippe for Tiffany & Co. pocket watch, made in 18-karat gold, sold to an Irish businessman for $1 million, well above its pre-sale estimate of $300,000 to $500,000.
The other item, a 14-karat yellow gold, diamond, and sapphire pencil case by Battin & Co., garnered $204,800, more than 10 times its high-end estimate of $20,000.
The businessman who ultimately ended up with the pocket watch was bidding via phone, while the pencil case went to an online bidder, who had bid for—but lost out on—the watch, according to WBEZ Chicago.
“These results show a rare convergence of history, craftsmanship, and human narrative,” Reginald Brack, senior vice president and head of the watches department at Freeman’s, said in the news release about the sale.
“It is uncommon to find property that unites four significant names—John Jacob Astor IV, the RMS Titanic, Tiffany & Co., and Patek Philippe. Each has its own legacy, but together they tell a unique and moving story. The market’s response confirms these objects’ emotional and historical significance to collectors worldwide.”
Both the pocket watch and the pencil case were recovered from Astor’s body days after the sinking.
Astor, thought to be the wealthiest and most famous passenger aboard the Titanic, is remembered for helping his then-pregnant wife, Madeleine Astor, onto a lifeboat the night of the wreck, ensuring her safety before remaining on deck.
The heartfelt interaction is “emblematic of the human stories behind the disaster,” Freeman’s said, and the objects he carried in his final hours serve as tangible witnesses to that history.
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Astor’s Patek Philippe for Tiffany & Co. pocket watch, made in 18-karat gold, sold to an Irish businessman for $1 million, well above its pre-sale estimate of $300,000 to $500,000.
The other item, a 14-karat yellow gold, diamond, and sapphire pencil case by Battin & Co., garnered $204,800, more than 10 times its high-end estimate of $20,000.
The businessman who ultimately ended up with the pocket watch was bidding via phone, while the pencil case went to an online bidder, who had bid for—but lost out on—the watch, according to WBEZ Chicago.
“These results show a rare convergence of history, craftsmanship, and human narrative,” Reginald Brack, senior vice president and head of the watches department at Freeman’s, said in the news release about the sale.
“It is uncommon to find property that unites four significant names—John Jacob Astor IV, the RMS Titanic, Tiffany & Co., and Patek Philippe. Each has its own legacy, but together they tell a unique and moving story. The market’s response confirms these objects’ emotional and historical significance to collectors worldwide.”
Both the pocket watch and the pencil case were recovered from Astor’s body days after the sinking.
Astor, thought to be the wealthiest and most famous passenger aboard the Titanic, is remembered for helping his then-pregnant wife, Madeleine Astor, onto a lifeboat the night of the wreck, ensuring her safety before remaining on deck.
The heartfelt interaction is “emblematic of the human stories behind the disaster,” Freeman’s said, and the objects he carried in his final hours serve as tangible witnesses to that history.
Following the sinking of the Titanic, the pocket watch and pencil case remained in the Astor family for decades.
One of John Jacob Astor IV’s sons, Vincent Astor, passed them down to his third wife Brooke Astor, who left them to her son from another marriage, Anthony Kuser.
Kuser left them to his wife Charlene Marshall, who died in 2024 at age 79.
The set entered the market from her estate, accompanied by archival documentation from Patek Philippe.
The watch and pencil stand as both “a masterwork of horology and a poignant relic of one of the 20th century’s defining tragedies,” Freeman’s said.
Freeman’s said its Watches auction saw “robust” international participation, with 28 percent of participating buyers new to the auction house.
In total, the sale garnered $1.8 million, with a sell-through rate by value of 132 percent, underscoring the “enduring market strength for rare watches of historic significance,” the auction house said.
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